Singapore stocks break streak of declines; STI up 0.5%

SINGAPORE stocks broke a 5-day streak of declines to close up on Friday (Sep 30) amid a mixed showing among Asian markets.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.5 per cent or 15.16 points to close at 3,130.24. Across the broader market, gainers narrowly beat losers 268 to 261 after 1.51 billion shares worth S$1.69 billion were traded.

Markets in the region were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.8 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.7 per cent and the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index declined 0.2 per cent. On the other hand, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.3 per cent and the Jakarta Composite Index edged up 0.1 per cent.

Saxo market strategist Charu Chanana noted that investors may still be jittery from hawkish Federal Reserve officials’ comments overnight. The United States also reported lower-than-expected 193,000 initial claims, from 209,000 claims a week ago on Thursday.

“The data shows how tight the labour market is in the US, and Fed’s Bullard labelled today’s claims metric as ‘super low’,” she said.

On the STI, UOL : U14 0% was the biggest gainer, rising 3.3 per cent or S$0.21 to close at S$6.65.

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The trio of banks were also in the black. DBS : D05 0% gained 1.4 per cent or S$0.46 to close at S$33.39, while OCBC : O39 0% gained 1 per cent or S$0.12 to close at S$11.83 and UOB : U11 0% gained 0.1 per cent or S$0.03 to close at S$26.16.

DFI Retail Group : D01 0% was at the bottom of the table, falling 3.8 per cent or US$0.09 to close at US$2.31.